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Awhile back I learned about a small photographic products shop very near where I live, courtesy of Jerold Harter. I hate to admit that a Wolverine can learn something from a Badger, but so be it...thanks again, Jerold!

Rosy Products is a one-man shop working out of a modest building on a farm near Pullman, Michigan, specializing in stainless steel print washers and sinks. I bought an 11x14 print washer and I am so impressed with it that I wanted to tell other Apuggers about it.

The bottom, sides, water distribution channel and support pieces of the washer are built from stainless steel, which for my money is the most beautiful metal that man has made. John meticulously bends the stainless steel on an ancient press, and welds it with a spot welder that might have been invented the same year that electricity was discovered. Regardless of the age of his tools, he wields them with the utmost craftsmanship and the washer really is a work of art.

The dividers are made from very thin plastic precisely cut, drilled, and assembled. The result of using these thin-walled materials is that despite only being 5" wide, the washer holds 10 11x14 prints. This was important to me since I have a very small darkroom and sink space is precious. It comes with a divider so that 20 8x10 prints can be washed at once, but since I seldom if ever make more than 10 prints in a session, I just leave it out.

I am attaching a picture of the washer installed in my darkroom. Note that the aluminum angle stock along the bottom is not part of the washer, but is a frame that I built to sit the washer above my sink for space purposes. It also comes with a plastic "lid" to keep prints from floating up in the water, but I left it off for illustration purposes.

John mentioned that he might not be building many more of these since they are rather labor intensive, and in fact I think I read over on the LF forum that he is no longer making 16x20 washers. So anyone interested in a washer should contact him soon.

Unfortunately the only finished sink on hand was already boxed up for delivery, so I did not get to see one first hand. But I am anticipating building a new darkroom later this year after relocating, and it will be designed around a Rosy Products sink.

It is a beautiful print washer for sure, and I'm sad to hear your hero will not be making these much longer. You're lucky to own one!

In the past I have used a similar print washer, but because the print 'bows' inside the slot due to the natural 'curl' of the paper, some parts of the paper is in continuous contact with the paper slow walls. This prevents water from flowing by that part of the print, and I have seen yellowing of prints that have been washed for in excess of an hour.
All of the prints I have ever sold have been washed in trays either by hand or with a tray siphon, so I'm not worried about sold prints. But how does your washer fare in this respect? I would love to find a solution that uses less water than a tray and siphon.

- Thomas

"Often moments come looking for us". - Robert Frank

"Make good art!" - Neil Gaiman

"...the heart and mind are the true lens of the camera". - Yousuf Karsh

Thomas: It seems that the water flowing up through the washer moves the prints around and will hopefully prevent the problem you are referring to. I will watch the prints that come out of the washer and be on the lookout for yellowing. I have never used a tray and siphon so I don't know how much water they use. But I don't know if this washer is necessarily a water miser.

Huh, looking at their website, I discover that they are the ones who made my very nice film drying cabinet with no nameplate on it. I bought it used down in Chicago. So here's another plug for a product of theirs!

Wow they are nice. I have a stainless steel washer that will wash 11x14 print too. But it's an old Arkay. I'm not sure if it's archival or not. My prints take a tumbling when they're being washed. I've heard an APUGer call it a contraption of evil. I inherited it when my former work place threw it out. What can I say, I'm a dumpster diver.

We are buried beneath the weight of information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with abundance and wealth with happiness.
We are monkeys with money and guns.

Check out their custom water mixing panel (temp control unit). They did what I had been contemplating, that is to rig up an inexpensive shower mixing valve that you might get at Home Depot. They package it in a nice stainless steel box and put a quality thermometer on it. For $175 it looks like real bargain compared to the $788 Arkay CP1000 (though it is not thermostatic like the Arkay).http://www.rosyproducts.com/water_temperature_mixing_panel.htm